Grayson
by Debra101
Summary: Robin is still Slade's apprentice and has no way out. Not only are his friends lives in danger, but a special object that he has is in the hands of Slade. Determined to keep it all safe, Robin willingly gives the rest of his life away to his most hated enemy, and enters a life of crime and death.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first Teen Titans Fanfic, and I am proud to say that this is probably going to be one of the best Robin and Slade stories that you'll ever read. I have worked very hard on this, so I hope you will enjoy it. I have to admit that my grammar is not the best and neither is my spelling, so please bear with me.**

**Oh, and before anyone ask me if this is going to be slash, I apologize now, but this is NOT going to be slash. There might be some suggesting scenes, and maybe even a rape (if there is room for it), but it will be nothing graphic. Minor language might also pop up every now and then, but only in a few chapters. (For example, one word might be in chapter 2 and we won't see another one until chapter 13.)**

**Updates will be every other week, but it might not be possible. With school, homework, and just plain life in general, new chapters could take a while.**

**Anyway, with that said... please enjoy my fanfiction about Robin and the apprenticeship.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.**

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**Chapter 1: A new-born killer**

Robin collapsed to his knees, sobs raking through his body. The whole world crumbled around him, like cheap three-year clay; almost as if the planet was once a beautiful model and now it's only a pile of dust and small chunks. He didn't mean to do it. He didn't mean to commit the crime. He was under pressure. A lot of pressure. The one thing that he cared about was in danger. He just couldn't risk the chance of it being gone forever like everything else in his life. It was the last original thing he had left of them.

Tears poured out of his unmasked eyes. He hadn't worn his mask for months, since it was, 'not needed', for he was no longer a hero. No longer Robin, Boy wonder, Batman's partner, and Titans leader. Instead, he was now an apprentice. Slade's apprentice. His identity had changed over the time he was with the mercenary. Those brutal months that had left a scar on him emotionally for the rest of his life.

His new identity is Grayson; the name that he was once proud of, because it was his deceased parents last name. Now'a days he loathe it. Not in disrespect for his parents, but because of what Slade had turned it into. Today he was feared and considered highly dangerous. 'Grayson' stole, hacked, injured, and even manipulated, but now another description described him.

"Well done Richard," said a male, smooth, silky voice from behind.

Those words barely registered in the boy's mind, for his other senses had taken over. The sound of fire cracking and debris falling, the cold touch of metal in his hands, the sight of a burning building, the taste of his own salty tears that had dripped into his gaping mouth, and most of all. . . . . the smell of fresh blood.

"What have I done", the former hero whispered in shock?

"Everything that you were supposed to do and more", replied Slade with a proud filled tone. "You did very good, Dick."

"Don't call me that", Richard snarled turning around still sitting on his knees. How could Slade sound so calm when there were a number of people sprawled on the ground dead?

"That is your name, isn't it", Slade said, eye narrowing slightly? "Why would I call you anything else than your birth name? I mean you're not Robin anymore, you're my heir, my apprentice, my... son if you prefer it to be?"

And there it goes. The vague reason why he took the name Robin from him. 'Robin' was not the person Slade wanted anymore. No. Robin had too many morals, too many promises, too many friends,and most importantly too strong of a mind.

Richard John 'Dick' Grayson on the other hand was breakable. Dick had no one and would turn to anyone who would take him in, and mold him into whatever the person shaped him into. Richard was lost and consumed by fear, anger, and regret. Even if all of that were true, Dick sill had the potential and sanity to the psychotic enigma's liking, as well as natural stubbornness.

"I'm not your son", 'Grayson' said. How dare he even mention such a thought?

"You may not think that now-", started Slade taking quick even steps forward to inspect the damage thoroughly. "- but in due time you will consider me to be like a paternal figure to you."

"Don't get you hopes up", Richard quietly muttered.

It must have not been quiet enough, because he received a painful backhand to the jaw. The feel of Slade's gloved hand under his chin, roughly lifted his head so that they were eye to eye, blue to grey.

"I will not tolerate disrespect", snapped Slade. "The sooner you get that information through that thick head of yours, the better it will be for the both of us." He removed his hand. "Do you understand?"

Dick, teary eyed, tore his gaze away from the cruel man. After everything that had happened not five minutes ago, the assassin still demanded respect. All of the dead bodies that littered the ground and the fire from the explosion, Slade ignored it as if it were nothing.

"Do you", reiterated Slade in demandment?

Richard reluctantly met his gaze once more. "Yes. . . . . master", Grayson spat out detesting the last word. He hated being forced to call him that.

Slade's one eye softened. "Good boy", he purred.

The mercenary then turned his attention to the horrific scene that displayed before them.

"I assume that the target was well taken care of", he stated.

"Yes sir", Dick responded automatically. He saw Slade nod approvingly.

"But-", Slade said. "- blowing up the hotel was not part of the plan." He glanced at Richard. "What happened?"

The former hero, far from recovery of his traumatic doing answered the villan. "The target was heavily guarded by his pawns. Apparently he had people on the inside posing as employees, and one of them found out about our mission, and attacked me. His guards had weapons and ammunition so I had no choice but to fight them. I was out numbered and they just kept on coming, and they started to keep all the innocent people hostage. They also killed a few of them, and I panicked."

Richard paused. "I was scared of what might happen, since the mission did not go according to plan. I didn't know if I should have just left and get punished by you or. . . . blow up the entire building and make sure the mission was a success."

They were silent for a moment, no one daring to speak.

"I see", replied Slade. "You were simply overwhelmed, because of the number of pathetically trained goons, and you were so selfishly driven to the point where you would rather murder over a hundred people, just so that you wouldn't be punished by me."

"What", Dick said taken aback by the accusation? "N- no it wasn't like that. I- I'm not selfish. I would never..."

"But you did", replied Slade nonchalantly. "You're learning boy. Self preservation is the key to this line of work; it's an easy skill to learn, but sometimes difficult to maintain when on missions.

He turned around to look at his apprentice. "You are used to saving people, Richard. It's hard to do the exact opposite and just watch them suffer. That's what made you panick. It was that, and your growing fear of me." He paused. "Dick, I don't want you to be afraid of your master. I punish you the way I do, because you step way out of line. The continual disrespect and unnecessary melt downs will be met with severe consequences. You have been under my care for four months. I expect all of your petty excuses to be gone by the fifth month. Understood?"

"Yes master."

"Good by."

The sound of distant sirens echoed through the air, signalling their time to depart.

"Let's go", Slade commanded.

Richard nodded, slowly standing up. He wiped away a few stray tears, and put his gun back in his pocket. He took one last glance at the people he had shot, and then turned away disappearing in the shadows with his master.

He was Grayson: a hacker, stealer, apprentice, liar, and now... a killer.

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**So what do you think? Was it alright, fine, okay, good, great, wonderful, terrific, or just plain awesome? Please let me know!**

**Please Review A.S.A.P.**


	2. Chapter 2

**From now on the rest of the chapters will be flashbacks so that you will know how Robin became Grayson. It will slowly progress into his transformation, and reputation.**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S: This is an early update, because Spring Break is here, and the school year is almost over. (yay!) But until school is on summer break, updates will be on its regular schedule.**

**IMPORTANT! For some reason the line breaks aren't working in some parts of this chapter, so if you get confused on a time change, read carefully and you'll be able to find where the lines should be.**

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**Chapter 2: The failed escape**

_**Four months ago**_

"And from now on, I would like you to call me master."

Hunched over in defeat, Robin knew that the game was over for him. The war that he had been fighting against Slade had finally come to an end. It wasn't like he had a chance anyway. No matter what, Slade always had the upper hand, and was a few steps ahead. The man was stronger, taller, smarter, and obviously more skilled. So in frank, what the man wanted he sure got it.

"And as a result of your actions", said Slade catching the boy's attention. "You will watch your friends writhe in pain from the probes."

"No", shouted Robin, his hero instincts instantly kicking in! He wouldn't let Slade hurt his friends. Not again. "Please. Let me take the punishment in their place. Don't let them suffer because of me. I'll... I'll even steal something for you if you'll just leave them alone."

Slade's one eye lifted in amusement. He wouldn't let his apprentice off that easily.

"Robin, listen to yourself. It's the same thing over and over again. You don't want your former friends to suffer because of you, and they wouldn't have to if you'd only do everything I tell you to do. Your defiance is what got you into this mess in the first place, and yet you still fight against me. Your display of insubordination a minute ago is a perfect example of why I should just get rid of them. If you are so determined to stop me and put the titans in danger once again, then I might as well give you the trigger to push and put your friends out of their misery that you are causing."

Robin narrowed his eyes, hating the fact that his arch-nemesis always made sence."I'm not the bad guy here, master", he spat. "You are. You're the monster who put the probes inside them in the first place."

"And I'm not the one who puts them constantly at risk. If it wasn't for your resistance, then the titans wouldn't even know that the nano-scopic probes even exist."

"Shut up!"

Out of anger, Robin blindly charged at the man and threw a punch. Slade easily caught it with one hand. Trying to pull out of the vice grip, Robin swung his right leg up in attempt to kick the man on the side. Slade blocked the attack with his free hand, grabbing the boy around his ankle. Robin growled frustrated that he could be overpowered so effortlessly.

"Let me go", snarled Robin!

"No", replied Slade calmly.

"I said let me go!"

"And I said no."

"Shut up!"

"Calm down."

"Never!"

"I'm warning you."

"No!"

Slade quickly turned the boy over, wrapped his arms around Robin's chest, and lifted him up letting the boy's shoes barely touch the floor. "Then you leave me no choise."

Slade reveled the trigger, so that it was directly in Robin's view. He immediately stopped squirming.

"Slade, no..."

"It's too late for that now. Prepare to watch them suffer."

He pushed the button, and the screens around them came to life. Four of them showed the out lines of the titans forms, and the probes activated in different parts of their bodies. The largest screen in the middle had his real friends on it. They were all in the main room of the tower, glowing orange.

Raven was on the floor on her hands and knees, and was probably meditating before the pain had started. Her body quivered in discomfort, as she tried to fight to stay conscious.

Cyborg and Beat boy were laying on the couch in no better condition. Their game controllers were on the floor, where they had dropped them, as the TV blinked 'game over'. B.B rolled from side to side yelling in agony, as Cy grunted with one arm holding the other.

Out of all of the titans, one of them really caught his attention. Starfire, who was in the kitchen, screamed an ear-piercing scream. She was the only titan standing up, fighting the immense pain. Her hands clutched her head and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"No", breathe out Robin tearing his eyes away from the screens. This was too much. All of this was his fault. And he couldn't stop it.

* * *

Robin had trouble sleeping that night. Not just because of the slightly uncomfortable bed, but because of the nagging thoughts that plagued his mind.

He could have stopped it. It could have all been prevented and avoided. His friends were hurt, and it was all because of him. His stubbornness was going to be the death of them, and thankfully that wasn't the case this time. But not only was it his stubbornness but his pride along with his huge ego as well.

His ego...

Other than that so-called potential, why would Slade, a psychopath, want him as his apprentice? Sure he could defend himself in tough battles against everyday bad guys, aliens, super enhanced villans, nut jobs, and so on, but what else could have caught the mercenary's eye?

'I know it's not my personality', Robin thought bitterly.

Why on earth would he want a smart mouth kid as his heir? There were probably hundreds of people who would want to be the man's apprentice and follow in his footsteps. They would gladly give him respect, and steal without hesitation.

So why Robin?

Robin turned to his side, facing the wall. He was exhausted, but he knew sleep wouldn't come. He was used to it though, ever since his parents died when he was eight. The nightmares, midnight patrols, and his recent obsession on finding out who was Slade had kept him up day and night.

Obsession...

That was the one thing he never wanted to consume him. Slade to Robin was Batman's Joker. They would both spend hours, days, and even weeks on researching their adversaries. They wouldn't eat nor sleep. And the one thing that they both would do is push away the ones closest to them.

'Just like what Batman did to me', Robin thought sorrowfully.

He sighed and closed his still masked eyes.

If sleep didn't come for him tonight, then he would at least try to get some rest.

* * *

**_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_**

Robin slammed his hand hard on the blaring alarm clock.

'6:30 a.m. already!?'

Groaning, he slowly sat up and rubbed his sore eyes while stretching his arms. Already he could tell that it was going to be a long day.

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**Cliffy! I wanted this to be a short chapter, because the next one is going to be long. Like I said before this is my first Teen Titans fanfic, so please go easy on me. **

**Until next time...**

**Please reveiw a.s.a.p.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Welcome to chapter three! I know that it has been a long time, but homework, SOLs, and band competitions have really taken over my schedule. Updates right now are going to be slow, until summer break starts.**

**I'm sorry for the long wait. **

**Anyway enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

**Warnings: There are a few profanity words. Nothing too bad, but just incase you're sensitive to bad words... Also there might be quite a few grammar mistakes, so please forgive me if there is a lot of bad spelling.**

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**Chapter 3: The training room- part 1**

One of the most things he hated to do with Slade, besides being held captive by him, was eating with the man. And that's exactly what he was doing right this very minute.

They were in the dining room eating pancakes, bacon, and a mixture of blue berries, strawberries, and black berries. The food was good, but it was nowhere near as good as the food Alfred made. Alfred would always add a special ingredient to everything he prepared, while the person who fixed the meals here seemed to only follow the ingredients on a box. That's what made the food taste good, but not great.

Looking down, Robin put a spoon full of fruit in his mouth. Even after nine times he had eaten with Slade, he couldn't even glance at Slade while they ate. The man was too intimidating, and radiated dominance. It made Robin feel inferior.

Grabbing a piece of bacon, Robin munched on it. It made a nice crunching noise indicating that it was crispy. Feeling board, he absent-mindedly traced the designs carved on the side of the tabel. In the middle it had Slade's 'S', and beside it on both sides it had crossing swords, and the rest of the designs were a bunch of swirls.

Sighing, Robin started to drench his pancakes in maple syrup.

"You seem depressed", stated Slade eyeing the boy in front him. He had his fingers laced together, leaning forward. "Care to explain?"

Robin rolled his eyes. The last thing he would do was tell the mercenary how he felt. Slade was only trying to irritate him by asking how he was feeling. The man didn't give a crap about him.

"Well", the assassin egged on?

Robin scoffed. "Why do you care", he snapped?

Slade's single eye lifted in amusement. "Why shouldn't I?"

"Oh, I don't know", said Robin sarcastically not caring if it would anger the masked villain. "Maybe it's because you're evil, you blackmail me, you kill, you steal, you're always threatening me and my friends, you constantly put the city in danger, you act like you have all the answers in the world, and..." Robin paused. "... you're just Slade."

"Well then, I must be very cruel and heartless", replied Slade.

Robin nodded. "You are."

Shaking his head, Slade took a sip of his water with a straw through the slits of his mask. That made Robin fume even more. "That's a lot to say about someone you don't even know", said Slade putting his glass down.

Robin shrugged. "Maybe. But that's not a good enough excuse for everything you've done."

"Perhaps", Slade said with a smirk. "So you really don't need to know my intentions, my reasons, my goals, my past , my..." He stopped getting a smug gleam in his eye. "... my identity."

Robin crossed his arms looking away. "Like you would show me your true self. You're probably not even human."

And it was true. Slade is so cold, that it isn't funny. The man only cared about one thing and it was himself. He's a selfish, mean, inconsiderate, vile, infamous, no good, inhumane, one eyed freak, cold hearted, son of a bitch!

_All my power. All my knowledge. All for you._

**_Liar!_**

_You need to learn to have some gratitude._

**_What for? You're only doing this for your own selfish deeds._**

_You've gotten sloppy..._

_**No. I'm stronger.**_

_Don't tell my you've gone soft._

**_Shut up!_**

_I could be like a father to you._

**_Never!_**

_All you care about are your worthless, pathetic, friends!_

**_And as long they are alive, nothing can stop me from protecting and being with them._**

Robin bit his lip trying to come back to his awful reality. He just had to get away from his dark thoughts. His dark memories.

Slade eyed the boy in front of him ignoring the comment about not being human. Robin was truly a magnificent child who held much potential, and could easily achieve any goal, but he lacked the patience and gratitude. The minor yet important qualities of being the perfect apprentice.

_One day you'll let your guard down._

**_Fat chance._**

_And I'll be there to stop you._

**_I'd like to see you try._**

Chuckling, Slade decided to continue the conversation.

"What makes you think I'm not human?"

Robin glared at him. There are a lot of things that made the man unhuman. "Everything."

"Everything?"

"Every-frickin-thing-you-do."

Slade snorted. 'This is such a juvenile argument. It's time to put the boy back in his place.'

"Robin", Slade said calmly. "What did I tell you about disrespecting me?"

"I don't care", retorted Robin. "I only give respect to those who deserve it. And you Slade; don't deserve a single thing! You can force me to do anything you want, but I will never show you any respect!"

"And the Bat deserves it", quipped Slade? "The same 'role model' that you so much looked up to, who doesn't even trust you and threatened to take 'Robin' away from you forever? The exact same Batman who never begged for you to come back to Gotham and fight crime as his partner again? He never even bothered to call or send a letter to you."

The retort that Robin was going to say caught in his throat. How did Slade know about what happened between him and Batman? Not even his friends knew about their fight that ended the dynamic duo.

"How did you know-?"

"Breakfast is over", Slade said cutting across his apprentice enabling him from finishing his sentence. "You have five minutes untill your training starts. I want you to be in the gym on time. Don't be late."

'The gym', Robin thought? He had no idea where the gym was.

"But I don't know where-"

"You'll find it", Slade replied standing up.

"But I don't-"

Don't be late. There will be consequences if you do."

"But-"

Slade's eye narrowed dangerously at him. He knew that it would be the boy's first day of training, and he had no clue where it was, but he wanted to see what Robin would do. So basically what he was doing is just out of mere curiosity. Mostly.

Robin stared incredulously at the mercenary's back as he disappeared out of the room. He knew that Slade good and well knew that he didn't know where the location of the gym was. In fact, Robin had only been in three rooms inside the entire Haunt. The dark room with the gears, his living quarters, and the dining room. This place could be huge with and upstairs and downstairs. Maybe even three, four, five, stories high. Possibly more.

Gritting his teeth, Robin stood up. Might as well get it over with.

Taking a piece of bacon with him, he headed towards the hall. The hall was dark and dimly lighted with candles. There were glass display cases beneath the candles that contained army weapons and medals. There were also a few pictures that lined the cream colored walls. The pictures were nothing special though. One was mainly a picture of some fruit in a basket, another was a sunset with a lake, another was the interior of a house, the fourth was a picture of a garden, the was just a bunch of shapes, and the next was...

Robin stopped in front of it. The picture wasn't as big as the rest, but it was framed in a nice black frame. The picture looked like it could have been drawn by a little kid no older than seven. The scene had five stick figures of all different colors. The first one was tall and had rectangles for pants, triangles for shoes, and a square looking thing for a shirt, and rainbow hair. The second one had an orange filled triangle for a dress, and was shorter. The third one was a boy in similar attire as the first; also with rainbow hair. The next one was also a boy, but had shorts on instead of jeans. The last one was a little girl with a red triangle dress.

Robin smiled sadly. It was a picture of a family. Something that he'll never truly have again.

His fingers ghost over the messy hand writing. Dad, Mom. Grant. Joey. Me . So it was a little girl who drew it.

'Why would Slade have a picture like this in his house?'

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Robin continued his search down the plush red velvet carpeted hall.

After about two minutes of taking two rights and one left, Robin started to worry. Had he went the wrong way, or taken the wrong turn? Maybe instead of taking that extra right he should have went left.

Sighing, Robin leaned against the wall. There was no way in hell he was going to make it in time. Slade was either going to punish him for his tardiness, or for disrespecting him earlier anyway. Now it would be for both.

'Stupid Slade!'

Groaning, Robin banged his head on the wall, and instead of hitting something hard it was soft. 'Weird.' Robin stepped away from the wall and reached for the spot he had just hit. He traced it with his fingers going straight across(horizontal) and the down the middle of the line(vertical). It was the shape of an uppercase T.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he applied more pressure to it. Immediately that part of the wall rose up, reveling a large room. Robin stepped inside taking it all in. One side of the room had weights and treadmills, the other had a nice sized swimming pool, to the left there was a two sided track about half a mile long or more, on the right there was a spot that had an acrobatics area, and finally in the center was a place for sparing.

"You're late", came Slade's sharp voice from behind making Robin jump.

"Sorry", Robin said not meaning it at all. "I wasn't aware that the gym was secretly hidden behind a wall. Next time I'll just go roaming around beating on the walls until I find what I'm looking for."

Slade's one eye narrowed, clearly not amused. "Once again, must I remind you of the consequences of your back talking?"

Robin scowled. "I've said it once and I'll say it again, that I will never respect you..."

He was cut off by Slade holding the trigger.

"You really are despicable", replied Slade. "Endangering your friends, always putting their life on the line."He chuckled darkly. "Some friend you turned out to be. You should have just isolated yourself from the world like your former mentor did. I'm almost positive that he didn't want to get too attached to you, because that is his weakness. Getting close to someone."

He lowered the trigger. "Is that why you have trust issues, and endanger people? Because you were so deprived of the affection that you needed at such an early age. Did the Bat really rub off on you that much? Did he? The last time I checked you didn't want to be the Batman."

"Shut up", snapped Robin! He didn't need to hear this from Slade. He already knew how Bruce and Batman did not let himself get attached to others. Besides, caring about someone else is not a weakness, but a . . . . . . . . distraction.

Some of the flames inside of Robin started to smolder. Never in a million years would he have ever think of such a thing. Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast boy are not a distraction. Right?

"Having second thoughts about your friends, Robin", asked Slade?

"No."

"Are you sure? To me you seem very conflicted with yourself."

"I'm not conflicted."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"You're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying!"

"Then prove it."

"I... I... Arg!"

Robin rushed at Slade with his fist ready to strike. He was sick and tired of the mercenary always taunting him. Why couldn't Slade just leave him alone? Why couldn't he just go away?

Slade caught his fist in mid-air, and kicked Robin's feet from under him. Before falling on his butt, Robin arched his back and positioned himself into a hand stand, swinging his legs around landing a hit on Slade's chest. The man stumbled back caught off guard. Taking it as an advantage, Robin gave him a strong right hook and then a kick to the waist. Robin then avalanched a series of punches and kicks until Slade was backed up to one of the closest walls.

Robin grabbed onto the front of the assassin's Kevlar shirt with both hands, seething in anger. "I'm not so conflicted now aren't I", Robin replied in between breaths?

'Maybe now Slade will learn to back off.'

Seconds passed on by as Robin waited for his "Master" to say something. Anything. Even a twitch of the eye would be satisfying. Maybe even a blink.

More time passed.

Still nothing.

His patience was quickly diminishing.

More time.

There was no reaction from the man.

Robin lost it!

"Aren't you gonna say anything", he snapped! "Don't you have anything smart to say, or any cryptic threats to intimidate me with? Aren't you going to pull out that stupid trigger, and hurt my friends?"

Nothing.

"Answer me!"

Robin's grip loosened, as his masked eyes turned somber. His bottom lip was trembling and his once even breaths turned labored.

Slade's one eye narrowed, as his hand shot up grabbing both of Robin's wrist, swiftly jerking the boy's body changing position.

Realizing what had just happened, Robin started to struggle. "Let go of me!"

"No", said Slade calmly.

"I said let go!"

"Haven't we already had this conversation?"

Robin growled. He was mad, he was frustrated, he was tired, he was scared, he was confused, and he was... conflicted! He had to get away. He had to do something. Something clever. Something smart.

He spit in the man's face.

Slade's eye turned to a slit. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that boy."

The mercenary flung Robin across the room into the weight area. Robin landed on the flat surface of a treadmill head first, briefly blacking out. He could hear Slade's foot steps getting closer and closer.

'Note to self. Never spit in an assassins face ever again. Especially when the assassin is Slade.'

"You know at first I was really impressed", said Slade as he advanced forward. "You had control over your anger, by channelling it to your advantage. But-" He stopped towering over Robin."- you lost that control, causing you to let your guard down. That anger is what prevented you from seeing the bigger picture. That anger is what brings the worst out of you in mental and performance wise."

"Well I wouldn't have this problem if you had just stayed out of my life", replied Robin with a glare.

"No", said Slade. "You still would. By what I've found out, you have always had trouble keeping you emotions in check. But your anger is a completely different situation. You don't even bother to control your anger anymore."

Robin downcasted his eyes. It was true. Ever since his parents died, his emotions have been going haywire. Bruce had tried to help and it did work for a little while, but after their argument things hadn't been the same.

"I could help."

Robin's head snapped up. "Really?" The word had left his mouth without him even thinking.

Slade smiled under his mask at his apprentice's reaction. He knew he had the boy now.

"Yes, really", Slade said with a nod. "But now-" He walked over to a bench press. "Let's see how many pounds you can hold. Your training starts now."

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**Wew! (stretches cramped fingers) This took forever for me to type up, and I hope that it was worth typing. Your comments are very inspirational, so please leave one so that I can post updates faster.**

**Please review a.s.a.p.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did Robin would be my own apprentice.**

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**Chapter 4: The training room- part 2**

Robin panted drenched in sweat. It has been three hours. Three straight painful hours of lifting weights, running laps, and receiving his punishment, which consists of two hundred push-ups, fifty jumping jacks, and seventy crunches. He was now on number eight of those crunches.

"Faster", scolded Slade.

And that's exactly what Robin did, as he went _faster_ collapsing on the floor. This was too much. Never in his whole entire life had he been punished this way. Even when he was with Batman he was merely sent to his room.

Robin layed on his back, his chest quickly moving up and down, lungs burning fighting for air. He tried to move his legs, but they were sore and immensely stiff. He scrunched his eyes as he stared at the fluorescent lighting. His head was pounding and he could already tell that a forever lasting headache was coming very soon.

"Pathetic", Slade commented towering over Robin once again.

Robin snorted. "If I'm so pathetic, why do you still want me as your apprentice? If I'm really that useless, there's no need to keep me imprisoned here."

Slade chuckled. "If I thought you were useless, I would have killed you by now."

"Then why don't you?"

"Enough apprentice", Slade warned. "You should have learned your place by now."

Robin muttered darkly under his breath, and went back to doing his crunches. His whole body screamed for him to stop as he began. Everything hurt. All his muscles were sore and tight, especially in his back. Robin hissed as a sharp pain shot through him.

"It hurts doesn't it", said Slade?

Unable to say anything, due to his agonizing pain Robin nodded.

"Good."

Robin rolled his eyes at the remark.

"You're going to have to learn how to cope with pain", continued Slade. "How to push yourself way over your limits, how to hide your pain, and ways to ease the pain physically and emotionally."

"I already know now to do that", replied Robin on crunch number thirty-four. "I was trained by the best after all."

Slade snorted. "I promise you Robin, the Bat is no where near the best. I'll admit he is skilled, but even he too needs training. Yes, in your eyes he is powerful and strong, and you haven't been able to beat him in hand to hand combat, but that's because Batman is weak and has also held you back."

"No he hasn't", Robin defended. Bruce has always trained him to be the best he could be. "He has taught me everything he knows."

"No he didn't."

"Yes he has."

"Oh really", challenged Slade? "Then stand up."

Robin smirked. He was willing to humor the man. Robin pushed himself up with his hands, and suddenly felt something hard on his chest forcing him back down.

"Didn't I tell you to stand up", reiterated Slade?

Giving the mercenary a glare, Robin cautiously lifted himself up just in case that sudden force came back.

He was almost standing when this time he saw Slade rush at him. Without any time to move or think, Slade raised up the palm of his hand and slammed it on Robin's chest. He felt the wind being knocked out of him, and stumbled back to the floor. At first he couldn't breathe for a few moments, but a new rush of air filled his lungs a couple seconds later. He immediately went into a coughing fit.

Slade carefully watched his apprentice. The boy had so much to learn. Even the basics. Almost everyone knows how to do the 'beginners stunner.' It was one of the first defense moves that was invented throughout history! He sighed inwardly. The Bat must really not have trusted him if he didn't teach the boy the simple yet effective move.

"What... was... that", Robin asked in between gasps?

"That was the 'beginners stunner', also known as a temporary lung paralyzer", explained Slade. "All fighters in the hero, and in your so called 'bad guy world' either knows how to perform it or has prior knowledge about it. As you have experienced it had stopped your lungs from functioning for a few moments. It's not enough to kill a person, but it will slow them down as a newly supply of air flows into their body. The trick to this is your speed and how much force you apply to their chest by the palm of your hand. This is a move I shouldn't have needed to teach you, but since Batman has failed to do that himself, I'll just add that on my to do list."

Robin looked away from him. He had heard about the 'beginners stunner', but only short stories, and those stories weren't from Batman. Maybe Slade was right and-

\- hold on! Robin mentally chided himself. What was he doing comparing Slade to Batman? Slade didn't deserve to be compared by his mentor.

"You have a lot to learn", replied Slade. "It could take some time. Maybe a few months, years even, but you'll get the hang of it."

Months? Years? There is no way Robin was going to stay that long.

"Sorry to burst your bubble", started Robin. "But I'm not staying here. I will escape, and if I don't then my friends will come for me. They always do."

Slade shook his head. "I doubt that. We are in a very remote location and they won't be able to track us. To them it will be extremely hard to find, but who knows? Right now at this very minute we could be directly in-front of them and they won't even notice."

"I have faith in my team", Robin said slowly getting up silently pleading for his 'master' not to knock him down again. "I trust them with my life."

"Hmph." 'We'll see about that', thought Slade. He walked up to his apprentice and noticed how the boy tensed up as he approached. The mercenary chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hit you."

Robin silently cursed realizing his mistake. He tried to relax his muscles, but only seceded a little bit.

"You did alright for this being our first warm up together", said Slade. "It will get tougher everyday, but I believe you can handle it."

'Warm up? More like the basic training they have in the military', Robin thought bitterly.

"Go clean up", ordered Slade. "Lunch will be ready shortly. After that I will show you where your robotics, language, and regular school classes are. Once that is over we will have a sparing session. Understood?"

"Yes Slade."

"Good. You are dismissed."

Relieved, Robin sprinted past Slade and went for the door that led to the door-less hallway."

"And Robin", Slade said catching the boy's attention.

"Yes?"

"Don't you think even for a second that I haven't noticed you evading my title. I won't punish you this time for it since you still have to finish your current punishment, but I expect you to call me master when you address me. Is that clear?"

'Umm. . . NO!'

Robin wanted to scream just that at the moment. Yes, he had kind-of evaded calling Slade master, but for a lot of good, reasonable reasons. The first reason was the most sensible of all. He didn't want to. Second, it's because it's a sign of submission. Third, this is Slade we're talking about. The evil mastermind only wanted to see Robin, the boy wonder, succumb to him.

"Yes." Robin inwardly groaned. He so did not want to do this. "Master."

"Good boy", Slade purred. "Now go."

Robin turned around and walked out of the room into the hall. The wall behind him slid close, and he went to his room getting lost only once.

* * *

**Author's Note: Yeah, I know this is a short chapter, but it's a necessary one. The next one will hopefully be a bit longer, but I can't guarantee anything.**

**But enough of the bad news, and onto the good. The plot of this story will soon start to reveal, and the action will be awesome! Please leave a review so that updates will be posted faster.**

**Please review a.s.a.p!**

**~Debra101**


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